Speeding Up The Process
by AutonomousAnonymous
Summary: Everyone knows Miley likes Oliver and Oliver likes Miley. Both are stubborn and afraid to admit it. Lilly and Jackson look to team up and speed up the process. Moliver and Lackson. WARNING: Limited plot, just a sweet Moliver/Lackson 'feel good' story.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's me again. This little bugger took me a while but as I thought it out more, I decided to turn it into a two-shot, possibly a chapter or two more. Not only that, I have some Lackson for my other mates. I've noticed there are fewer and fewer Moliver stories out here, yet plenty of 'JoBro' stories... I decided to act fast! So I have this, and I have another story planned out so I plan on helping save the boards with a few of my own Moliver stories. As always, let me know how this is, what you liked, what you didn't like, constructive criticism, etc. WARNING- this story was not written with a real plot, more an attempt for some 'aww' moments, some nice Moliver and Lackson, and another 'feel good' story. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making nothing off of the following. All following characters are retained by Disney.

* * *

Speeding Up The Process

Chapter One

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Miley Stewart angrily opened her eyes to see her best friend Lilly Truscott bouncing on her bed. They had slept over the night before at the Stewart house to celebrate the end of school and the start of vacation. Despite not falling asleep until the wee hours of the morning Lilly was wide awake and her typical hyper self. Looking over to her clock, she realised it was 9.17 am.

"Lilly how can you be this hyper on that little amount of sleep?" she asked bitterly, pulling her pillow over to cover her head in a poor attempt to stifle the sounds of Lilly.

"I'm just naturally a perky person," Lilly replied as she bounced again on Miley's bed for effect. "Now get up. Your dad has pancakes!"

Groaning, Miley pulled the pillow off her head and slowly rolled out of bed. Grabbing a robe and a pair of slippers she slowly trudged to the door. Leaping from the bed to the door, Lilly followed.

Once downstairs, they each took a seat at the kitchen counter. As Miley moved to sit down next to Jackson, Lilly made a move to step in front of her. Yawning, Miley managed to roll her eyes and sat in the remaining seat and took the plate her father handed her.

"So what are we doing today?" Lilly asked happily.

Looking up and smiling now, Miley replied, "The beach of course! We need to tan and check out the cute boys of course."

Next to them, Jackson scoffed and pretended to vomit. Turning to him, Lilly put on a face of mock concern.

"Aww Jackson you don't have to feel left out. You can come check out the cute guys with us if you want."

Miley and Lilly both laughed, doing their usual hand thing, as Jackson pushed his empty plate forward and stood up.

"Thank the Good Lord I'll be working. I'd rather clean out the piddle box Uncle Earl has for Snuggles than listen to you to discuss the cute boys at the beach," he said before turning around to head upstairs. "Later."

Rolling her eyes, Miley turned to finish her pancakes as Lilly sat tapping her fingers impatiently. Looking up, clearly annoyed, she sighed.

"I'll be finished when I'm good and ready. Tapping your fingers will just make me eat slower," she said.

Sighing loudly, Lilly pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time.

"Well once you're done, we're going to have to go grab Oliver at his house."

Looking up from her nearly finished pancakes, she stared bewildered at Lilly.

"By the time we get there, it'll be nearly 10.30," she said questionably. "He won't be up by then?"

Giving her a look, she responded, "_That_ doughnut? You kidding?"

They both laughed as Miley finished her pancakes before heading upstairs to get dressed for the day.

* * *

About an hour later, Lilly and Miley arrived at the Oken house and knocked on the door. Answering the door was a kind, yet slightly temperamental woman who smiled at her visitors.

"Lilly! Miley! Come in, come in..." Ms. Oken said, opening the door to let them in.

Walking back into the kitchen where some food was sitting on the stove, she dumped it into a bowl and set it on the table. As Lilly and Miley sat down, Ms. Oken grabbed her purse from the kitchen table and turned to walk back out to the door.

"Sorry, can't chat girls, I'm on my way out for the day," she called over her shoulder as she reached for the door. Turning around before she pulled the door shut behind her, she added, "Oliver of course is still sleeping so I'll let you handle him."

Turning to look at Miley, Lilly rolled her eyes. Looking around the house, Miley turned to face Lilly.

"You know, I've been here a couple times, but I don't think I've ever come to wake Oliver up," she said.

"It's actually quite easy," Lilly said with a smile. She turned to face the stairs that were visible from the kitchen table and called, "OLIVER! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT DOWN HERE!"

As no response was heard, Lilly turned to Miley again and said, "He's still asleep then. This always works though."

Turning back to the stairs, Lilly called, "FOOD!"

Immediately, slow, but evident shuffling and other movements from an upstairs bedroom could be heard. A minute later, Oliver Oken's head could be seen trudging from the upstairs hallway.

Turning back to face the stairs, having looked away when Lilly shouted, Miley smiled as she said with a hint of her Southern accent, "What's wrong with you boy? It's nearly 10.30!"

Oliver appeared to be unresponsive as he walked slowly down the stairs, clad in only pyjama bottoms.

Miley's eyes widened slightly, glancing up and down at him as next to her, sighing in disgust, Lilly asked, "Do you _ever_ wear a shirt to bed? Especially if you don't plan on getting up until noon and possibly have visitors?"

Oliver again appeared unresponsive as he pulled out a chair and pulled the bowl his mum had set down earlier in front of him, spooning large amounts onto his plate. He immediately began shovelling down food.

"Good morning to you too," Miley said sarcastically. Receiving no response, she rapped her knuckles on his head jokingly and asked, "Anyone there? Or does Ollie not respond before 11.00 a.m.?"

Turning slightly, Oliver blearily gave Miley a look before turning back to his food. Miley rolled her eyes but laughed slightly, glancing up and down at him again quickly. Next to her, Lilly eyed Miley with amusement. Unaware of her look, Miley turned happily to Lilly.

"So the beach today?" she asked with a smile.

A bemused smile still on her face, Lilly replied, "Of course. Tans, cute boys, and surfing!"

Oliver groaned, but continued to eat. Miley eyed him before turning to Lilly and laughing.

"He probably only wants to do the first two, right Ollie?" she said, wrapping an arm around and laughing again.

Oliver paused again and gave her another look.

"Yeah, I really want to spend all my time at the beach listening to you two discuss who has the better eyes, nicer hair, best bod," he said rolling his eyes, unaware of Miley glancing quickly at the latter. "But I guess I could get a tan and surf some."

Rolling her eyes, Lilly said, "There's the spirit! Now hurry up ya' doughnut! We need to go during the prime tan time. We can't sit around here and watch you eat!"

Miley laughed, adding, "Yeah, we get enough of that down at Rico's." Grabbing his plate from him to take it to the sink and ignoring his indignant scoff, she said, "You can grab something to eat at the beach. Go get dressed!"

Sighing bitterly and mumbling, he stood up obediently and turned to head back upstairs. From the sink, Miley watched him leave. As he made it to the landing, Lilly turned to Miley.

"What was all that?!" she hissed.

"What do ya' mean?" Miley asked confusedly.

Staring at her with a slightly bemused look, she responded, "Were you checking him out?"

Eyes widening in amusement, Miley asked, "What?"

Mouth slightly agape, Lilly pointed back to the stairs and replied, "You were totally ogling him!"

Miley rolled her eyes and laughed slightly.

"Please, it's Oliver. I ogle him about as much as you ogle Jackson."

Lilly raised her eyebrows slightly as Miley shook her head in silent laughter.

Turning back to face her, Miley asked, "Should we go hurry him up? What are the odds he'll go back to sleep?"

Checking her watch, Lilly laughed, responding, "Well since it's now nearly eleven o'clock that is a pretty good assumption. We should probably go check."

Laughing they stood up and started to head up the stairs. Arriving on the landing, Miley headed to a slightly ajar door at the end of the hall and knocked. Receiving no response, Miley turned to Lilly who shrugged and together the two walked inside. The sight made each roll their eyes.

Oliver lay face down on his bed, arms spread wide, fast asleep again. Looking at each other with knowing looks, they nodded. Together they both ran and jumped onto Oliver's bed, snapping him awake immediately.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed before looking around and frowning slightly as his two friends. "What are you two doing?"

"What are _you_ doing? It's 11.00 and I believe _I_ told you to head upstairs and get ready, _not_ to go back to sleep," Miley said with her hands on her hips, emphasising her words to him.

"_We_ are going to the beach today and by 'we' I do mean you too," Lilly said bouncing on his bed. "Now get up!"

Stepping off his bed, Miley grabbed Oliver's hand and pulled him with her to his closet. Opening it, she looked through a few of his clothes before taking out a shirt and a pair of shorts. Turning around she handed them to him and pointed back into the hallway.

"Now take these and go take a shower," she said with a smile.

Oliver nodded silently and turned obediently to go take a shower, Miley watching him leave. Lilly continued to bounce on Oliver's bed, yet another bemused smile on her face.

* * *

Half an hour later, Miley, Lilly, and Oliver were finally at the beach, currently all sitting around Rico's. Oliver had insisted they stop for food first since he was starving.

"What'll you have Oken?" Jackson asked as he approached Oliver.

"Hot dog and a smoothie," he said hungrily. Turning to Lilly and Miley, he asked, "What can I get you two?"

Lilly raised an eyebrow, asking in mock amazement, "You're actually offering to buy? This is an historic day..."

Oliver rolled his eyes and turned to Miley.

"Raspberry, orange, strawberry, banana smoothie right?" he asked with a smile.

Smiling back, she replied, "Of course."

"Make it two of those," he said to Jackson.

Now turning to Lilly, he annoyingly asked, "So what are ya' havin'?"

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Just get me a hot dog or something." Turning to Miley and grabbing her arm, she said, "Let's go start working on our tan. Since _Ollie_ is buying, he can bring it to us."

Miley rolled her eyes as well but laughed as Oliver scowled again at his hated nickname and allowed herself to be dragged over to the beach by Lilly. Grabbing two chairs, she set them up, sitting herself in the middle as Lilly grabbed her own chair. As she went to set it next to the open chair Miley brought, Miley pointed next to herself instead.

"No, put your chair right here."

Giving her a look, Lilly shrugged her shoulders and sat down anyway, kicking back and pulling her shades down and enjoying the sun.

Miley pulled her shades down a little as she looked behind her for a moment. Looking at her out of the side of her own shades, Lilly rolled her eyes as Oliver approached carrying two hot dogs and two smoothies. Smiling, he handed a hot dog to Lilly and a smoothie to Miley. Turning to go grab a chair, he was stopped by Miley.

"I already got you a chair if you would've looked ya' doughnut," she said patting the chair next to her.

"Well sorry Ms. Stewart, I didn't see it," he said sticking his tongue out, his gesture being returned by Miley.

Walking around to the chair, Oliver set his hot dog and smoothie down in order to pull off his shirt. Miley's head turned slightly and her shades fell forward some, allowing her to see over the top. Taking a bite of her hot dog, Lilly rolled her eyes again, and firmly elbowed Miley in the ribs.

"Stop ogling him," she hissed. "There are plenty of cute boys around this beach and you're ogling _Ollie_?"

Snapping her head around, she hissed back, "I am not _ogling_ him."

"You're drooling," she stated quietly.

"I am not–" she hissed but paused as she wiped away a little drool from her mouth. She looked away from Lilly and pushed her shades back up.

Rolling her eyes, Lilly hissed again, "You're totally checking him out!"

"Who is Miley checking out?" asked Oliver as he tuned into the conversation, half of his hot dog in his mouth.

Miley and Lilly both froze. Miley immediately turned to glare at Lilly and shook her head pointedly. Lilly smirked, but remained silent and instead rolled her eyes as Oliver confusedly looked between the two.

"Seriously, who's Miles checking out?" he asked, a sly smile forming on his face.

Miley glanced at Lilly who still had a smirk on her face. Sensing the look, Lilly turned to Miley, then to Oliver, then back to Miley and wiggled her eyebrows. Miley glared even more at Lilly.

Watching the looks exchanged with a confused expression on his face, Oliver turned to look out at the beach.

"Seriously, who are you checking out Miles?" he asked as he scanned the beach. "Normally you're not quiet about it."

Turning back to look at her, Oliver again looked confused.

"You can't even see anyone clearly from where we are anyway," he said in a slightly hesitant voice, scanning the beach again.

A slightly cocky smile came to his face as he turned back to Miley and Lilly.

"Maybe you were checkin' out Smokin' Oken, eh? Checking out my guns?" he asked as he lifted his arm and flexed his bicep for them.

Looking sideways, Lilly watched as Miley's eyes widened out of the side of her shades.

"Smokin' Oken has been doin' some heavy liftin' this year," he said cockily, flexing now to show off his triceps.

Lilly rolled her eyes as she watched Miley's eyes widen even further. Nudging Miley hard in her ribs again, Lilly hissed, "You're drooling again."

Miley didn't respond, however, her eyes watching Oliver flex from behind her shades. Oliver laughed after flexing his biceps again and then turned to look at Miley and Lilly. He paused again seeing Lilly rolling her eyes and Miley apparently looking at him from behind her shades.

Cocking his head and looking between the two of them, he removed Miley's shades to indeed reveal her staring at him. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Err... Miley? You all right there?" he asked hesitantly.

Her eyes widening with the removal of her shades, she responded quickly, "Yep! I'm doing great! Just fantastic!"

Slightly scared now, Oliver stood up and backed away slowly.

"I'm just going to be getting another hot dog," he said pointing over his shoulder and turning to leave.

Turning to Lilly, Miley pulled off her shades and scowled.

"You're loving this aren't you?" she asked bitterly.

Lowering her own shades, she replied with a large smile, "Yes, very much."

Poking her in the shoulder, Miley said, "You know, I've seen you checking out guys before and you aren't exactly subtle."

Shrugging, Lilly replied, "That's true." With a smirk, she added, "I am, however, able to keep my self-respect by not _drooling_."

Miley's face fell and she hesitantly moved a hand up to her mouth and wiped away the drool. Folding her arms with a sigh, she looked around behind her, watching Oliver talk with her brother as he ordered.

"This is weird Lilly. I mean obviously I made a fool of myself in front of Josh but I really never had anything with him. Dex I never had a chance with due to a certain _doughnut_,but then again, I doubt we would've had anything either. Jake was nothing but drama and complications. What's with me and boys I like?"

After taking another bite of her hot dog to think, she swallowed and replied, "Well maybe this time you realise that this crush might be more than a crush."

Miley stared at her in shock as Lilly continued.

"Not to mention this crush is much more than superficial and based off of true feelings."

Miley stared at Lilly for a moment before saying in shock, "Girl when did you get so smart?"

Putting her hand up nonchalantly, she replied, "Girl I read _Cosmopolitan_ and _Seventeen_." Smiling lightly, she added with a serious tone, "I also have watched you and Oliver since day one."

Watching Oliver argue with Jackson after receiving a hot dog bun with no hot dog, she laughed lightly. Sighing and resting her head on her hand, she said quietly, "My relationships never last. There was always something wrong."

"Yeah, the guy," Lilly said with a smile.

Smiling as well, she nodded, saying, "It always was, always is, and always will be." Rolling her eyes as she watched Oliver and Jackson squirt ketchup and mustard at each other, she added, "And he is _such _a doughnut."

As Jackson held his hands up in surrender and retreated to fetch a hot dog, Lilly said, "Of all the guys to fall for, you fall for _Oliver_..."

Laughing quietly as Oliver started to walk back with a proud smile on his face and ketchup all over the rest of him, Miley sighed again.

"He is a doughnut, but he's a very sweet, very loyal, and _very_ cute doughnut."

Sitting down again, Oliver smiled happily as he went to take a bite of his hot dog. Pausing, he frowned for a moment before hitting himself in the head in realisation.

"Forgot the ketchup!"

Lilly and Miley both turned to face each other for a moment before both of them started laughing, leaving Oliver to watch the two of them with a confused expression on his face.

"What?"

"Look at yourself ya' doughnut!" Miley said in between giggles.

Still confused, Oliver looked down at himself before smiling in comprehension and saying, "Right, I forgot."

Taking a hand and wiping some ketchup off of himself, he proceeded to wipe it onto his hot dog, causing Lilly to pull a face and Miley to laugh even harder. Smiling happily, he took a large bite, managing to get ketchup on his lip and nose in the process.

Lilly rolled her eyes and leaned over to Miley, whispering, "Again, of all the guys to fall for..."

Miley rolled her eyes as well but whispered back, "He's too cute." Looking at Oliver again, she indicated her own lip and said, "Oliver? You have a little something here."

"Where?" he asked as he rubbed his face and managed to move the ketchup from his nose down to his lip. "Did I get it?"

Rolling her eyes yet again, Miley leaned closer to him and licked her thumb.

"Nearly," she said as she leaned into him and then wiped the ketchup from his lip with her thumb. They both froze at the movement, but Miley managed to add quietly, "There, it's gone."

They both sat there frozen for a moment as Lilly looked between the two with mild interest and finished her hot dog. After another moment of the staring contest, she sighed and let out a rather loud, fake cough, startling the two and causing both to jump apart slightly, but the eye contact continued.

"Thanks..." Oliver said quietly.

"No problem..." Miley replied just as quiet.

Sighing again, Lilly stood up and muttered, "I'm going to get something else to eat..."

As she walked over to Rico's, she noticed the starting contest continue. Sitting down at a vacant stool, she rolled her eyes as the silence continued between the two. Behind her, Jackson stepped closer and rested his arms on the counter to look over where she was watching.

"What's up with Miles and Oliver?"

Rolling her eyes yet again, Lilly replied, "Miley started ogling Oliver and Oliver is clueless."

"Just the usual then?" Jackson asked as he rolled his eyes as well.

"Yep, pretty much. I was able though to get Miley to admit it to me."

Jackson turned to look at Lilly in shock.

"You're kidding? I mean while it was obvious, I didn't think she had or ever would admit it to anyone."

As Lilly turned to face Jackson and respond, she paused, looking him up and down and seeing slowly-drying mustard all over him. She decided, however, to ignore it.

"Yeah me either. She finally admitted to me that she was checking him out and I even got her to admit she's been _pining_ for years."

Raising his eyebrows clearly impressed, Jackson responded, "That is pretty cool. Oh and 'pining'? Nice."

Nodding with a cocky smile on her face, she pretended to brush some invisible dirt off her shoulder. Turning around in her seat to face Miley and Oliver, she sighed and rested her head against Jackson's shoulder as he continued to lean on the counter.

"You think they'll ever get together? I mean we did..." she asked, leaning back more to look at Jackson upside-down.

Leaning down to kiss her on her forehead, Jackson paused for a moment to watch them as well.

"Well to be fair, we were both on sugar highs at the time and just kind of spit out our feelings while we were going on and on about our love for candy."

Lilly nodded in fair agreement, looking back at Jackson to continue.

"They both clearly really care about each other though, but they might be slow at admitting it. I've heard Miley say before that she's worried about making the friendship awkward and all and I assume Oliver probably feels the same."

Lilly sighed, saying, "Yeah and it's so sad. They both clearly like each other and I can tell it's slowly tearing them apart trying to display 'just friends' feelings to each other. They both pretend to not like each other like that." Rolling her eyes now, she added, "Kind of like when Miley says 'eww' when it's suggested she kiss Oliver. She gives herself away when she overreacts like that. Mr. Corelli knew she'd freak about that since _everyone_ knows how she feels about him."

They both remained silent as they observed Miley and Oliver sit next to each other in silence. Looking at each other, they both smirked.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jackson asked.

"Speed up the process?" Lilly suggested.

Jackson nodded, turning back to look over at his little sister and her crush.

"Speed up the process," he said with a grin.

* * *

A/N: Again, let me know what you liked, didn't like, constructive criticism, etc. Oh and let me know how I did with attempting to write in American English, rather than my own Queen's English. Changed some words with help from the Moliverfans board but still let me know. Other than spelling and 'mum' anyway coz' I won't change that.

I'd like at least 5 reviews before chapter two all right? Compared with my other stories, that shouldn't be too hard, eh mates? Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Took a while since I had more inspiration for another story. That will probably be posted before chapter three of this but still read and review for both and let me know. I still have no idea why this is so popular. 21 reviews?? You realise that is nearly as many as my two-chapter _I Was Trying To Be Convincing?_ This story was just supposed to be some cute Moliver and Lackson moments. Glad you all like it though!

I apologise in advance for this being much shorter than the first chapter. I had to bung out a real plot and storyline for this so I hope that makes up for the length, which is still more than 2000 words. If the storyline doesn't, hopefully the nice 'aww' moments with Moliver and Lackson make up for some of it. Let me know your thoughts on this mates. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making nothing off of the following. All following characters are retained by Disney.

* * *

Speeding Up The Process

Chapter Two

"So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking this ice cream needs more chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and more of those little candies."

Jackson rolled his eyes as Lilly gazed at her ice cream. They were currently sitting at an ice cream shop, attempting to plan. Attempting being the key word as all that had really been accomplished was a sugar high for each of them.

"I think both of us have had enough sugar," Jackson said with a straight face, pushing his unfinished bowl of ice cream away from him.

Lilly looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. Jackson's eye twitched and he glanced back down at his ice cream. His eyes bulged for a second before he lunged forward and pulled his ice cream back to him, taking another bite of it in the process. Lilly raised both eyebrows this time.

"Okay, we're both done with sugar _after_ we finish our ice cream," he said in response to her look.

She rolled her eyes this time. Looking deep in thought, she said, "We need to figure out how we want to do this. We want to speed them up, but too quick can be bad too..."

Jackson nodded, pausing from his ice cream to contemplate.

"At the very least we need to get them to spend more time together," he said thoughtfully, pausing to think again as he took another bite.

As Lilly sat scooping out another spoonful, she suddenly froze, her eyes bulging in realisation.

"I got it!" she exclaimed excitedly, causing some neighbouring ice cream eaters to look at her oddly.

"Ugh, me too," Jackson said as set his ice cream down to rub his temples.

"Not brain freeze," she said sternly as she lowered her voice. "I have an idea involving Miley and Oliver."

"Oh."

Leaning forward with a smirk, she lowered her voice even more.

"I know how we can get them to spend more time together," she said with a smile before turning down to take another spoon full of ice cream.

"I know where you're going with this," Jackson said with a smirk. "I know what we need to do."

"We need to get some more of this," Lilly said taking a bite and indicating her now empty bowl.

"Both of us can't be getting sidetracked every couple of minutes," Jackson said.

"Sorry, but yeah, you know where I'm going with this?" she asked with a smile.

"I know where you're going with this," he replied.

"Let's do it."

* * *

"Come on Miley!"

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," Miley responded as Lilly attempted to speed her up. "Since when did you want to go out to eat?"

"Oh, I dunno. Just thought it might be fun," Lilly said innocently as both examined themselves in the mirror.

"It should be, but why so fancy?" Miley asked as she looked at herself in her mirror. She was wearing another new 'Hannah outfit'.

"I just thought a night out wearing some 'Hannah outfits' might be even more fun."

Looking at herself again, she shrugged and said, "Good thing I don't need to impress anyone. I guess this is nice."

Lilly raised her eyebrows as if making a mental note of her comment for later but remained silent as they both headed downstairs.

"So how exactly are we getting there?"

"My mum should be here in a minute," she replied sitting on the edge of the sofa.

"Actually she's here now," Miley said looking out the front door.

Walking out with Lilly following, the two stepped inside and sat down. After buckling up, the two remained silent for a while as Lilly's mum drove.

Shortly after, they arrived and said good-bye to Ms. Truscott, walking inside slowly. Pulling out her cell phone, Lilly looked at the time.

"Jackson should be here any minute," she said as she put her cell back into her pocket, completely unaware of Miley's bewildered look at the mention of her brother's name.

"Jackson? My brother? Why would he be coming here?"

"Our date," Lilly replied simply.

Her eyes bulging, Miley hissed, "You dragged me to a date between you and my _brother_? When did you two start dating anyway?"

Pausing to think, she shrugged and replied, "Oh, a few days."

"A few days?! You didn't tell me why?"

"I dunno, never came up," Lilly replied in a bored voice.

The two continued into the restaurant and sat down at their table. Mouth still slightly agape, Miley was quiet for a moment before frowning again.

"So you dragged me here so I can be a third-wheel on your date?"

Smiling now, Lilly said, "Of course not. Jackson is bringing our other guest."

Her eyes widening, Miley hissed, "Not only did you drag me to a date between you and Jackson but you set me up on a blind date?! Do you remember the last time you set me up on a blind date? Worst date of my life!"

With a smile, Lilly calmly replied, "Whoever said I set you up on a blind date?" Looking up as she saw Jackson enter the restaurant, she added slyly, "Unless you want it to be a date..."

Miley looked up with a frown as she noticed her brother enter but froze at the person behind him. She turned hesitantly to Lilly.

"I feel really underdressed. I wish I would have worn something prettier..." she said quietly as she pulled at her dress.

"Why is that?" Lilly asked with a smirk.

Playing with her napkin and avoiding her eyes, Miley quietly responded, "Well... now that I know Oliver and I were dragged along to you and Jackson's date I... err... feel underdressed next to you and Jackson..."

"Why would that matter?" Lilly asked as her smirk grew larger. "I mean it's not like you're on a date too. Unless–"

"What are you two doing here?"

Oliver looked between the two, having frozen at the sight of Miley and Lilly at the table. Miley rolled her eyes and smiled at Oliver.

"It looks as if we were both dragged to their date."

Oliver looked at Jackson who was taking a seat across from Lilly and held his arms out wide in confusion.

"Forget to tell me something?" he asked Jackson bitterly.

"Nope, not at all. Just didn't tell you," Jackson replied with a smile as he pulled out his menu.

Oliver threw his arms out again as Jackson turned away from him. Turning to look confusedly at Miley, he asked, "Did you know about this?"

"Of course not!" Miley said quickly. Recovering and managing to roll her eyes, she added, "You know Lilly always drags me to things. I had no idea she'd be dragging me to her date, let alone with my _brother_."

Oliver shrugged and sat down across from Miley and pulled out his own menu.

"I'm starving."

Miley rolled her eyes and stood up suddenly.

"Excuse me, but Lilly and I will be right back..." she said as she grabbed Lilly's wrist and pulled her forcefully with her to the back of the restaurant.

Upon entering the loo, Miley turned to glare at Lilly.

"What did I tell you?" she asked.

Shifting uncomfortably, she replied, "I know, I know, 'don't wear orange with green' but this shirt was so cute and the belt was on sale–"

"Not your outfit!" Miley snapped. "What is it with you and pushing me and Oliver?"

Lilly smiled and rolled her eyes, replying, "You like him, what's the problem?"

"The problem is just because I trusted you enough to tell you–"

"_Finally_ tell me..."

Frowning, Miley continued, "Just because I trusted you enough to tell you, doesn't mean you can go around making subtle references and remarks."

Sighing, Lilly replied dryly, "Oh chill Miles, you know I'm just giving you a hard time as a good BFF should."

"Let's go," Miley said with a slightly annoyed smile. She paused briefly to check herself in the mirror before following Lilly out the door.

Sitting back down, Miley picked up her menu after glancing up and down at Oliver quickly, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Lilly.

Leaning closer and pulling up her own menu, a small smirk evident on her face, she whispered, "Like what you see?"

Miley quickly pulled up her menu to completely cover her face and hissed back, "Oh hush. I was merely surprised at Oliver dressing this way." With only a slight colour to her face, she added, "He looks good, so what?"

"What looks good?" Oliver asked from across the table.

Snapping her menu down to the table, her eyes widened slightly, she hurriedly replied, "The steak of course! I think a big 'ol t-bone steak looks good."

"Oh yeah, I was thinking the same! T-bone, or maybe the rib-eye, or maybe even the New York strip steak..." Oliver said as his eyes started to glaze over.

Lilly snorted behind her menu and elbowed Miley in the ribs.

"Again, of all people..."

"Oh shut up," Miley said sticking her tongue out from behind her own menu and attempting to hide her bemused smile.

Lilly looked over at Jackson who winked at her. He indicated Miley with a nod and snickered. Oliver snapped out of his trance and looked between Jackson, Lilly, and Miley with a confused expression on his face

"Am I missing something...?"

"A proper brain perhaps?" Miley suggested as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Oliver stuck his own tongue out before replying, "Hey my 'boy brains' aren't always useless. I know some stuff..."

"Yeah your knowledge of food, your impression of a fruit fly, and your 'rapping' ability is amazing. The girls just swoon over Smokin' Oken..." she said sarcastically but a smile evident on her face.

Lilly let out a rather fake cough from behind her menu that earned her a dark look from Miley. Lilly kept her mouth shut and pretended to continue looking over her menu. A friendly, older-looking waiter approached their table and took out a pad to take their orders.

"Everyone know what they want?" Jackson asked looking around the table.

"Can I start the two couples off with some drinks?" the waiter asked politely.

"Sure, I'll have–"

"We're not a couple," Miley and Oliver both said at the same time.

"Of course not," the waiter said with a knowing smile before turning back to Lilly.

"I'll just have lemonade."

The waiter then turned to each of the others as he turned around the table.

"Coke."

"Sprite."

"Sprite also," Miley said with a smile at Oliver.

Writing down, their drink orders, he turned back to look at them.

"Shall I get your drinks and come back for your dinner order or are you ready now?"

Jackson looked around the table and asked, "What do y'all think?"

"I'll go fetch your drinks before I take the two couples' orders," the waiter said with a smile as he left.

"We're not–" Miley and Oliver both started to say, but stopped as the waiter walked too far off. They both instead turned to glare at Lilly and Jackson.

"What is it with you two?" Miley asked.

"You're making it seem we're on a double date!" Oliver said.

"You set us up!" they both said in anger.

Lilly and Jackson both put on faces of mock astonishment.

"Us? Set you two up?" Jackson said with a look of mock hurt, placing his hand over his heart.

"Set up two 'platonic' friends?" Lilly said with a smirk on her face and using air quotes.

Both Miley and Oliver froze slightly at this, looking down slightly and avoiding each other's gaze. Jackson now smirked even wider than Lilly.

"You two are just friends right? So accompanying us on _our_ date doesn't necessarily mean you two are on a date as well right?"

Miley and Oliver both hesitantly looked at each other before looking away quickly. Miley looked up and with a quick glance at Oliver, turned to look at Lilly and Jackson.

"We're both still mad at you," she said with a sly smile. Oliver looked up at this and looked questionably at Miley who winked at him. A look of comprehension formed on his face as he too smiled slyly. Both Miley and Oliver then shifted away from Lilly and Jackson and started talking quietly amongst themselves.

Lilly looked at Jackson now questionably before turning back to Miley and Oliver.

"Err... guys?" she asked tentatively, receiving nothing in return other than having the two shift further away from her and Jackson. She rolled her eyes now and said, "Oh, I see. You're giving us the cold shoulder, eh?"

Miley and Oliver continued to ignore her and Jackson, Miley now giggling at a joke Oliver was telling. Lilly turned to Jackson and winked.

"Looks like that worked out nicely. They won't be talking to us for the rest of dinner though..." Lilly said as she looked over at Miley and Oliver. Rolling her eyes, she added quietly, "But I doubt Miley or Oliver care too much."

Jackson rolled his eyes too as Miley giggled again and quietly said, "I don't understand her. Oliver is only funny half the time. Most of the time it's because he doesn't think."

"Actually, when Miley and I were fighting over _Jake_," she said quietly, scoffing at his name. "She told me stuff she pretended to do, and one included pretending Oliver's jokes are funny."

Jackson scoffed as well and said, "Miles is in deep."

"Yeah she is," Lilly said as she laughed silently. "You only laugh at a guy's stupid jokes if you like him."

Jackson looked at Lilly oddly but then smiled cockily and said, "Except for me right? You laugh at all of my jokes."

Lilly's eyes widened slightly and with a forced laugh she said, "Of course! Your jokes are _terribly_ funny."

Jackson smiled happily but paused and frowned.

"Wait... 'terribly' funny...?"

Hurriedly Lilly said, "Hey have you decided what you're having yet? The waiter is coming!"

* * *

"Miley you can't still be giving me the cold shoulder."

Miley was currently lying on her bed in her room, iPod in hand and ear buds in her ears, ignoring Lilly with a small smile on her face. Lilly was sleeping over due to her mum being out of town briefly. They had returned from dinner half an hour ago, Jackson had dropped off Oliver first then Lilly and Miley at home before he headed to hang out with Thor and Cooper. Lilly had been trying to get Miley to speak to her since they left dinner.

"Come on Miley..." Lilly tried again. Sighing, she put on a dramatic voice, walked towards her bedroom door and said, "Okay Miley. I guess I'll just have to go downstairs and be by myself. All alone... without my best friend... alone..."

Miley rolled her eyes at Lilly's usual over dramatisation and finally looked up.

"I've said it many times and I'll say it again. You are such a drama queen."

Lilly instantly wiped off her mock dramatic expression and sprinted across the room to bounce on Miley's bed, landing in a sitting position. Miley laughed a little and took out her ear buds.

"So what were you listening to?" Lilly asked.

Miley shrugged and attempted to move her iPod under her pillow but Lilly snatched it out of her hand and looked at the screen.

"_One in a Million_?" she asked with a smirk.

"Oh shut up," Miley said as she took her pillow and hit Lilly with it.

Lilly laughed but then put on a look of seriousness. Avoiding Miley's eyes, she hesitantly asked, "So did you have fun tonight?"

Miley frowned slightly. Looking up and seeing the look she was receiving, Lilly hurriedly added, "I'm not hinting anything this time, seriously. Wasn't it kind of fun? All four of us having dinner together?"

Miley paused for a moment as she observed Lilly. She then smiled and looked down a little, playing with her bedspread.

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty fun," she said looking up with a bigger smile. "I wouldn't exactly mind doing it again."

Her face clearly holding back a smile, Lilly innocently asked, "So what did you and Oliver talk about?"

Miley looked suspiciously at Lilly for a moment but Lilly continued to feign innocence. Smiling again, Miley replied, "Just school, Hannah... the usual stuff." Smiling larger now, she rolled her eyes and added, "And Oliver was his typical doughnut self."

A small smile formed on Lilly's face as she asked, "Did he actually have some good jokes then?"

"Of course not," Miley said with a laugh.

Lilly looked on with a knowing smile as Miley then turned to look at her DVD collection. Finding one, Miley started to her bedroom door and waved at Lilly to join her.

"Let's go start our movie night!" she said excitedly.

Waving her on, Lilly said, "I'll be there in a minute. You go and start the popcorn."

As Miley turned and left the room, Lilly quickly pulled out her cell phone and started texting Jackson.

"_Plan is working. Will discuss further ideas to speed up tomorrow. P.S. You're out of ice cream._"

* * *

A/N: Again, 21 reviews for the first chapter?? I won't ask for a number this time mates, you all are bloody brilliant! Wow!

On another note, I would like my readers' opinions on all the JoBro stories taking up space on the Hannah Montana section. They are popular, I'm not knocking them. I am concerned, however, with so many stories about them, with the JoBros as the central characters, taking up the Hannah Montana section. Those of use that are looking for stories about the main characters have to sort through pages upon pages to find them. Would anyone else like this changed?

If you are a fan of the JoBros, this would benefit you as well. I started a petition on Moliverfans that will be emailed to the staff in an attempt to give the JoBros their own section, thus removing them from the Hannah Montana section if the story has them as the main characters. Interested? Let me know if you want your pen name added to the petition in your review, or just PM me and I'll add you. Let me know about the story too of course. Cheers!

P.S. Oh and my mate, pen name _MileyAddicted_, on and Moliverfans, has a poll on his profile page about the topic above. Check it out!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter Three mates! Do you all realise that I have 36 reviews for the first two chapters? 36?? _I Was Trying To Be Convincing?_ and _Ringtones and Realisations_ have 37 combined! How is this so popular? Glad you all like it though! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter as well. Props to Skates16 and Dreamerx3 from Moliverfans for help with Lilly's teasing later on. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making nothing off of the following. All following characters are retained by Disney. The lyrics come from Hannah Montana's 'Rock Star' of course. I don't own that either.

* * *

Speeding Up The Process

Chapter Three

"Wakey wakey Miley!"

Miley grudgingly opened her eyes and saw her best friend sitting cross-legged on the edge of her bed, wide awake, with a bright perky smile on her face.

"How are you _always_ this hyper in the morning, even after we have movie night?" Miley said as she slowly crawled out of bed.

Lilly just shrugged and hopped off Miley's bed to grab her slippers as Miley did the same. Skipping slightly out of her room and down the stairs, Miley slowly trudged on behind her, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she grabbed her bathrobe and pulled it on over her pyjamas.

As Lilly bounded the last couple steps, Miley froze and sobered instantly from her tiredness at the sight of Oliver sitting at her living room sofa watching her telly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she subconsciously messed with her hair and pulled at her bathrobe.

Turning around, he looked at her oddly and held his arms out slightly.

"It's Saturday! I always come over Saturday mornings remember? Your dad always makes waffles on Saturday!"

She frowned slightly and said, "I forgot it was Saturday, we had a late night." With a bemused smile she said sarcastically, "I thought you had been coming over Saturday mornings to spend time with me."

Smirking, he replied with a wave of indifference, "Yeah, yeah, that too," and stuck his tongue out at her. Miley smirked too, sticking her tongue out in return.

"Breakfast is served y'all," Robby Ray called from the kitchen as he set a dozen waffles onto a plate and turned to start making more. Oliver jumped up immediately and nearly sprinted over to the counter to grab a plate. Lilly walked over with Miley close behind and sat down two seats from Oliver, Miley sitting in between. As Miley grabbed her own plate, she raised an eyebrow as she watched Oliver begin to nearly inhale his waffles.

"Sweet niblets boy! Do you even chew?"

"Chur I duh," Oliver replied with his mouth full of waffle. Lilly looked over in disgust as Miley rolled her eyes and smiled, turning to her own waffles. As she poured syrup onto her waffles, Miley started singing softly to herself.

"Sometimes I walk a little faster in the school hallway just to get next to you. Some days I spend a little extra time in the morning just to impress you..."

Lilly looked on amusedly but remained quiet. Oliver looked over, however, and after swallowing, he said with a smirk, "Singing your own works? Aren't we humble?"

Miley chose to stick her tongue out at him which he returned. Miley watched as Oliver turned back to continue with his second plate before turning back to her own waffles with a smile. Lilly smirked widely at this and leaned over as to grab the syrup and hissed in Miley's ear, "You're even singing a song with him _right_ next to you?"

"Oh shut up," Miley said once again in attempted annoyance but her smile remained on her face.

"You are _so_ deep..." Lilly whispered as she returned to her waffles.

Miley shook her head and continued with her waffles after glancing at Oliver quickly, who was busy finishing his third plate. Rolling her eyes at the glance, Lilly stood up and pushed her empty plate forward.

"Well I'm off. Thanks for breakfast Mr. S," Lilly said as she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"Where are you off to?" Oliver asked with a confused look.

"Home to shower then off to Rico's to hang out with Jackson while he works."

"Great! Have fun," Miley said as she pushed her own plate forward. Turning to Oliver she asked, "Are you finished yet? We need to get going too."

Now looking completely confused, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"The mall of course! I want to look for some new stuff," she said excitedly.

Oliver's eyes widened slightly in fear. Looking at his watch-less wrist, he said, "Wow look at the time. I really need to be getting–"

"Oh no you don't," Miley said sternly. Putting her hands on her hips as she looked at him, she said, "You will wait for me while I go shower and get dressed, then you and I are going to the mall so I can look for some new dresses and outfits."

Oliver stood there staring blankly in response. A small smile on her face now, she turned to her father and said, "Eleven o'clock right Daddy?"

"Right Bud," Robby Ray said, who had been watching the scene with a bemused smile.

Smiling happily, she skipped upstairs, leaving a very confused looking Oliver. Turning to Robby Ray, he asked, "What just happened?"

Laughing, Robby Ray started gathering up the dishes and replied, "Son, you were just coerced into going shopping. Get used to it."

As Oliver stood there still confused, Robby Ray chuckled to himself softly.

"Reminds me of myself and Susan. She used to be able to drag me anywhere too..." he said with a sigh.

Oliver's confused expression was quickly replaced by a look of realisation at his words. He looked hesitantly at Robby Ray who looked as if he was controlling a smirk. Looking around frantically, he grabbed the stack of dishes from Robby Ray's hands and took them to the sink.

"Why don't I help you out with these, sir?" he said quickly.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Miley came down the stairs to see her father sitting on a chair watching the telly and Oliver sitting on the opposite side of the sofa, carefully avoiding his eyes. Cocking her eyebrow slightly, she walked into the living room and quickly sat next to Oliver, startling him, and turned to look at her father.

"We ready to go yet?" she asked with a smile.

"You bet. Let's go!" Oliver said quickly as he stood up and rushed out the front door. Miley watched Oliver run out with a confused expression on her face and turned to her father who had a small smirk on his face.

"What did you do Daddy?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Bud," he replied with a small smile. Turning off the telly and tossing the remote onto the table, he turned and went to grab his keys. Miley narrowed her eyes at her father and stood up from the sofa.

"Daddy...? What did you do?" she asked sternly with her hands on her hips.

"We best be goin' Bud. No need to keep Oliver waiting out there," he said as he walked swiftly out the front door.

Miley frowned but walked out after him and stood next to Oliver as her father locked the front door. As Robby Ray turned from the front door and started to walk to the car, Oliver smirked at Miley and raised his hand quickly.

"Shotgun!" he said as he sprinted to the passenger-side door. Miley opened her mouth in mock anger.

"No fair!"

"Sorry Bud, but Oliver called it fair and square as laid down by the Official Laws of Calling Shotgun," Robby Ray said as he sat down in his seat and buckled up.

Miley folded her arms in mock annoyance and sat down in the back. As Oliver took his seat in the passenger seat and looked back, Miley stuck her tongue out at him, an action returned by Oliver. Miley smirked now as she leaned forward to speak to Oliver.

"You might have won this, but don't forget, we're going to the mall," she said with a smirk as Oliver's eyes widened slightly. "We're going to look at shoes, dresses... the whole works."

Oliver closed his eyes and rubbed his temples slightly as he asked, "How did I get forced into this again?"

"It's a talent," Miley responded with a smile. Grabbing a hold of his arm and resting her head on his shoulder, she mockingly said, "And Ollie and I are going to have _so_ much fun."

Oliver turned to look at Robby Ray who was currently failing at attempting to hold back a smirk. Turning his head slightly, he winked at Oliver and chuckled quietly to himself. Oliver frowned slightly at him, but remained silent as he pulled into the parking lot of the mall.

Pulling to a stop, Robby Ray waited as Oliver and Miley unbuckled and stepped out of the car. As Miley walked around to the driver-side door, Robby Ray pulled out his wallet.

"Give me a ring at home when you two are finished here," he said as he pulled out his credit card and handed it to Miley. Miley excitedly attempted to snatch it out of his hand but he kept a firm hold on it as he said, "Please try and be reasonable, Bud."

Miley sighed and nodded, finally taking the card as he let go. As she went to walk around the car to join Oliver, Robby Ray said with a wink, "Have fun."

Miley stopped dead and spun around to scowl at her father but he was already driving off with a smile on his face and laughing to himself. Frowning as her father drove off, her frown was quickly replaced with a large smile as she then quickly turned around and snatched Oliver's hand and walked forward eagerly.

"Let's go, no time to waste."

Oliver groaned but couldn't hold back a smile as he allowed himself to be dragged into the mall by an excited Miley. She dragged him to a map of the mall and she paused momentarily as she scanned it. She smiled widely and pointed to a store on the map.

"We're going to look at dresses first," she said happily and proceeded to drag him by the hand to a nearby escalator.

Upon entering the store, Miley looked around in awe as Oliver groaned and stepped back to sit on a nearby chair.

"I'll wait here."

"Fine, fine, whatever," Miley said distractedly. "I'll come grab you over when I'm trying them on."

"Oh boy," Oliver said sarcastically, earning him a glare by Miley. Quickly changing his expression to one of slightly forced excitement, he repeated, "Oh boy!"

Miley gave him a stern, but amused look, and turned to go look at dresses. Oliver leaned back into the chair but paused as he felt his pocket vibrate. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open to read a text from Lilly.

"_Having fun with Miles?_"

Oliver frowned and typed back, "_She dragged me to go shopping with her._"

A few seconds later his cell vibrated again, this time reading, "_Aww, going shopping with your girlfriend?_"

Frowning even more, he typed back, "_It's Miles. You know we're just friends. And have I ever told you that you text fast?_"

A mere five seconds later, his cell vibrated yet again.

"_So cute, Miles and Ollie going shopping together. Miles gets to show off dresses and Ollie gets to carry her bags. Then you'll probably go eat together. So, so cute. And yes, I am AWESOME at texting! Got to go, I'll text you and Miles after your date._"

Oliver frowned deeply now and closed his cell with a firm snap. His angry musings were interrupted by Miley snatching his hand and pulling him up.

"I found some great ones! I need you to come tell me what you think as I try each one on," she said excitedly.

Oliver's frown was instantly replaced by a bemused smile. He rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to be dragged to the fitting rooms. Upon entering, she pushed him down to sit in a chair against the wall and entered her room. A minute later, Miley opened the door wearing a red dress. Oliver's eyes widened slightly.

"I wasn't sure about this one especially," Miley said as she tugged at the bottom of it. She looked up for Oliver's response, biting her lip nervously. Oliver remained silent, apparently incapable of speech. Miley cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm asking what you think of this one Oliver," she said with a slightly annoyed voice. As Oliver remained silent, her head fell.

"I knew it, this looks awful on me," she said in disappointment. Oliver snapped awake at this.

"You look gorgeous," he blurted out. Miley snapped her head up at this, her eyes widening slightly. Oliver's eyes bulged at realisation of what he just said and he began to stutter.

"I mean you... err... the dress looks gorgeous... I mean you look... you're gorgeous... I... it's a nice dress..."

Oliver closed his mouth and looked to be fighting to control the colour in his face. Miley cocked her eyebrows in amusement.

"Okay... thanks though," she said happily as she stepped back inside and closed the door again. Talking through the door, she said, "I didn't think I looked good in the red one so thanks. I want you to see a couple more."

As Miley stepped out in different dresses, Oliver responded to each one with, "That's nice, you look pretty in that."

After showing off her last dress, Miley clicked her tongue impatiently as she changed back to her original clothes.

"You didn't help at all," she said through the door. "All you did was compliment my choice in colour and tell me I looked pretty... which was very sweet by the way."

Smiling as she stepped out with the dresses, he asked, "Did I win any points for that?"

Smiling, she replied, "Yes, but you're still a doughnut." Grabbing his hand and pulling him with her out of the fitting rooms to the register, she added, "And I'm blaming buying all of these on you. You just couldn't make up your mind."

Oliver rolled his eyes as Miley handed the dresses and her father's credit card to the cashier.

"Where are we going next?"

"To look for skirts of course!" Miley replied happily. As Oliver sighed, she added, "That will be it actually, and then we can stop for lunch. We don't have to look at shoes or anything else."

Oliver smiled but it was quickly wiped away as the cashier handed the bags to him and the credit card back to Miley, wishing them a good day. Oliver looked confusedly at Miley who smiled happily and grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the store to continue shopping.

* * *

An hour later, Miley finally agreed to finish the shopping day by eating at the food court, much to the happiness of Oliver. As they found a spot, Oliver set her bags down and volunteered to go get food for the both of them. Miley smiled and watched him leave but was interrupted by her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. Pulling it out and opening it, she saw that Lilly had sent her a text message.

"_Having fun with your doughnut, Ollie?_"

Rolling her eyes, she quickly typed back, "_OLIVER and I are having fun shopping yes. He is not mine!_"

Shortly after her cell vibrated again, Lilly responding, "_You wish lil' Ollie was yours._"

Frowning now, she typed back, "_What do you want? If you just want to tease me I'm just going to ignore you._"

A few seconds later, Lilly's response read, "_I'm just messing with you again, chill Miles. I was just wondering what you two have been up to. Has he complained about a sore back yet lol._"

Smiling now as she thought, she typed back excitedly, "_Lol, not yet, but I bought a few new dresses, and some very nice skirts! Oliver has been carrying my bags and now he's getting us lunch before my dad comes and picks us up._"

Less than a minute later, Lilly responded, "_OMG, you bought dresses in preparation of your first date! I'll help you pick it out later. Are you sure you're not secretly dating? He's carrying your bags and buying you lunch..._"

Miley frowned again, and typed, "_NO! You already know that we aren't! He's just being nice, not to mention I kind of dragged him along anyways._"

Shortly after, Lilly replied, "_Miley, Miley, Miley... I can see I'm getting nowhere with you lol. Jackson and I are going out again tonight and we would love it if you two joined us again. It was fun. No need to respond, just offering... I'll talk to you later._"

Miley frowned further and closed her cell phone with a firm snap and put it back into her pocket. She paused though momentarily as if contemplating something, biting her lip in thought. Looking up, she saw Oliver approaching with two trays of food. Subconsciously smoothing out her shirt and skirt, she smiled at him as he set one tray down in front of her. Sitting down across from her, he immediately began digging into his own food. Miley rolled her eyes but watched him with a smile.

"You're such a doughnut you know that?"

Oliver merely smiled and continued eating. Miley slowly began eating hers, occasionally glancing up at Oliver. After a couple glances, Oliver happened to look up as Miley was watching him. Miley quickly looked down and continued eating, leaving Oliver with a confused expression on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Miley responded quickly, keeping her face down this time.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked as he wiped around his face with the back of his hand.

"No, no... just sort of wondering..." she said quietly. Looking up at him, she smiled nervously, playing with her food a little, and added, "Well, Lilly just texted me and said she and Jackson are going out again."

Oliver had frozen at the mention of Lilly texting her, but relaxed as Miley continued. Rolling his eyes, he asked, "So they're trying to drag us along again?"

Smiling even more nervously, she hesitantly added, "No, not exactly. This time Lilly just asked if we _would like_ to go with them." Smiling confidently now, she added, "I mean it was kind of fun wasn't it? Just hanging out?"

Smiling now himself, he replied, "Yeah it was pretty fun. That wouldn't be such a bad thing right?"

"Yeah, just having dinner together?" she said with a smile before freezing at realisation of her words. Hurried, she added, "... with Lilly and Jackson of course!"

Oliver stared at her with a blank look. Miley sighed quietly with a smile and rolled her eyes.

"You get the idea Oliver. You're such a doughnut. Have I mentioned that?"

Oliver merely stuck his tongue out in reply, causing Miley to giggle.

"So it's settled then? Dinner with Lilly and Jackson tonight?"

"It's a date," Oliver replied with a smile as he returned to shovel down his food, missing the wide eyed expression and small smile on Miley's face. Smiling a little bigger, Miley pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text message to Lilly.

"_Sure, Oliver and I will come have dinner with you tonight._"

Glancing up at Oliver as he continued to eat hungrily, she rolled her eyes and smiled, turning back to finish her own food.

* * *

A/N: Once again, you all are bloody brilliant! 36 reviews for two chapters? Blimey! Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. As always, I want to hear your thoughts, positive or not. If you did not like summat, that's okay, help me fix it with _constructive_ criticism. I want to strengthen my weaknesses. Help me out. Thanks everyone. Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Been a while but I'm currently struggling through finals and attempting to study. Chapter five will be the final one. I had help from Abz with some grammar and fluency, Mar-cay helped me add another embarrassing moment for Miley. Reviews have dropped for each chapter, but I'm still receiving around a ten per cent review v. hit ratio. I'm received thirteen reviews last chapter (thank you!) and since this story is on the alert list for twenty-one and on the favourites of eighteen of you, I don't think twelve is that outrageous of a request. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, where I can improve, etc. I like hearing your thoughts, it helps me write future chapters and future stories. Now, enough of me. Enjoy chapter four. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making nothing off of the following. All following characters are retained by Disney.

* * *

Speeding Up The Process

Chapter Four

"So Miley agreed did she?" Jackson asked with a large smirk.

"She did," Lilly replied with an equally large smirk.

Lilly was sitting at a stool at Rico's while Jackson was lazily wiping the tops of the counters, the lunch rush having just ended a while ago. Lilly had relayed her texts to Oliver and Miley to a very amused Jackson as he worked the end of his shift.

"So looks like we need to turn it up tonight," Jackson said placing his wash rag over his shoulder and leaning forward to talk to Lilly, resting his arms on the counter.

"Sounds as though my sister might already be thinking of something herself," he said with an even larger smirk. "Trying to impress old Oliver with a fancy new dress?"

Lilly smiled excitedly, replying quietly, "She sounded rather excited about the clothes she bought so she might have bought some clothes to impress him with." Rolling her eyes, she added, "She was absolutely _gushing_ about him."

Jackson chuckled softly and rolled his eyes as he said, "Miles, Miles, Miles... She is in so deep." Looking at Lilly now, he asked, "So you have any ideas for tonight?"

Lilly smiled and replied, "I'm thinking dinner again of course, but I'm also thinking we should extend the date by doing something else as well."

Jackson smirked widely as an idea came to mind.

"How about we eat dinner and then see a film?" he asked. Waggling his eyebrows, he said, "A fancy restaurant and the theatre..."

Lilly smirked as well.

"I like it." Pausing for a moment to think, she said, "Now to determine what film Miley would prefer. I know there are a couple new ones out. There's a nice romantic-comedy, a couple horror and scary ones out..."

"Well girls tend to want to be held during horror films," Jackson said with a smirk. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Firstly, half of the horror films we over exaggerate how scared we are. Secondly, Miley doesn't scare easily."

"True," Jackson agreed. "There's still the possibility she might be scared if we choose a real scary one..."

"I doubt it," Lilly said dryly. Rolling her eyes, she added, "She only panics when someone calls her on her crush on Oliver."

Jackson nodded in agreement, smirking slightly as he thought for a moment.

"Well then maybe we just go with the chick-flick, eh?" he asked as he turned around to grab his rag again, missing Lilly's glare.

"All right, sounds good. We'll have dinner at a fancy restaurant again and then go see a _romantic-comedy_," she said, gritting her teeth at the last part.

* * *

"Lilly in ten," Robby Ray said as he put down the phone and turned back to re-enter the kitchen. Jackson walked over to the door and checked his watch, counting silently to himself before he opened the door to allow Lilly to skateboard in.

"What's up Stewarts?" she asked enthusiastically.

"How ya' doin' Lilly?" Robby Ray asked as he looked up from a pot on the stove he was stirring slowly.

"I'm excited for tonight! Tonight might actually be the night!" she squealed excitedly.

"Ex-nay, ex-nay Lilly!" Jackson hissed as he looked over his shoulder at his father. Seeing his father was busy with the pot on the stove, he said quietly, "Dad doesn't know about our little plan–"

"–The plan you have to meddle with your sister's love life?" Robby Ray asked without looking up from the stove. Lilly and Jackson both looked over at him, mouths agape. As if sensing their looks by the silence, he looked up and said, "Yeah I know what y'all been doin' on your attempted 'double-dates'. I must say it is about time."

Lilly and Jackson's mouths widened even further in confusion.

"You're cool with this Mr. S.?" Lilly asked in amazement.

"Lilly, I've seen my Miles watching that boy since the day we moved here," he said with a chuckle, turning back to stir his pot again. Looking up with a smile, he continued, "As I've watched the two of them over these years, I just know that they have somethin' special. The two of them remind me of myself and Susan. I've also seen and heard Miles do some pretty crazy things and I've also seen her lose it occasionally when it comes to Oliver, because she cares that much. I've seen and heard Oliver do just about everything and anything for her. I know he'll make her happy. He already does..."

As Lilly smiled at Robby Ray's words, Jackson wrapped his arm around her and smiled at her, kissing her gently on the forehead. Looking up from the stove again to watch the action, Robby Ray added, "I've also watched you two over the years also."

Lilly and Jackson looked up as he turned back to his cooking.

"You're both crazy," he said with a smile. Looking up as the two of them looked up at him in mock hurt, he added, "And you two are perfect for each other."

Lilly and Jackson laughed a little, smiles stretched across each of their faces. Lilly stood up and kissed Jackson on the cheek before moving to head upstairs.

"I think I'm going to go hurry up our dear Miles before she loses it," she said rolling her eyes. "We all know how she gets with her _Ollie_."

Lilly headed up the stairs and proceeded to Miley's door, opening it immediately without knocking like usual. Upon entering, she saw Miley holding up and comparing a pair of dresses, one in each hand, while several others lay on her bed. She had her iPod on and earbuds in, biting her lip nervously as she compared the dresses, completely unaware of Lilly barging in. Walking closer to her, Lilly could tell that she was currently listening to 'If We Were a Movie'. Lilly rolled her eyes but smiled slightly, stepping onto Miley's bed. With a large smirk now, Lilly leaped across the room to land in front of Miley.

"Hey!" she said rather loudly and excitedly, scaring Miley in the process.

"Lilly!" she said as she caught her breath. "What is with you and not knocking? _And_ always being hyper?!"

Lilly shrugged indifferently and smiled.

"Soooo... what are you planning on wearing tonight?" she asked with a hint of amusement. Miley smiled sadly at this and sat down on her bed.

"I'm still not sure, but I have several that I like. I just can't choose! It's such a tough decision," she said with a sigh.

Lilly looked at Miley in sympathy and sat down next to her, looking at a dress she had set on the bed.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

Miley looked at her oddly and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what exactly are you looking to say with this dress? What do you want your look to say?"

Miley frowned and opened her mouth fiercely but Lilly raised a hand and spoke over her to say, "Miles, it is okay. It is okay to try and impress him. The only reason I've been a little more active than you would like when it comes to your feelings for Oliver is because I care about you. I want you to be like I am with Jackson. I want you to be happy. Oliver makes you happy."

Miley paused for a moment, her face clear of any expression. After a moment, however, she smiled shyly and began playing with the fabric of one of her dresses.

"He really does," she said in a slightly lovesick sigh. As she opened her mouth slightly to speak, Lilly rolled her eyes with a groan and stood up, pulling Miley with her.

"I don't need to hear about your love for your little Ollie, just like you don't want to hear about me and Jackson. Everyone knows that Oliver and I are exact matches of you and Jackson. Our interactions mirror those of you and Jackson. Oliver basically _is_ my brother and I don't want to hear about how cute you think he is or how sweet you find him, and all that other stuff."

Miley shrugged in agreement and laughed a little as she allowed herself to be dragged by Lilly to her mirror as she continued getting dressed for that night.

* * *

"So Oliver should be here soon then?" Robby Ray asked Jackson as he laid spread out on the sofa, flipping through channels on the television.

"He should actually be here pretty soon," Jackson said as he stood up off of the sofa and turned off the television. "I rung him earlier and told him what he needed to wear and everything and when to be here."

"What'd you tell the boy to wear?"

Jackson smirked widely at this, folding his arms across his chest as he responded, "Oh just you wait Dad. I've made him think this restaurant is so formal he'll be dressing like he's going to meet the Queen of England. Miles will be drooling."

Jackson laughed at his own comment while Robby Ray chuckled and said, "She's been known to do that anyway."

Jackson laughed harder at this, saying, "Yeah, poor Miley." With a roll of his eyes, he added, "Then you have Oliver who is completely oblivious to everything."

"I resent that," said Oliver as he walked through the front door and closed it behind him. He was indeed dressed as if he was going to meet Queen Elizabeth; his hair was even neat and tidy. Robby Ray and Jackson looked over at him and each raised an eyebrow.

"Sweet niblets! Did you comb your hair?!" Jackson asked as he snickered. Robby Ray shushed him with a look before turning back to Oliver.

"You look sharp son. I'd like to tell you when Miles will be down, but Lilly's also up there."

"They might be up there forever," Jackson said with another roll of his eyes.

"No problem," Oliver said with a smile as he sat down in a chair. Smirking, he added, "I'm used to having to wait on Miles. She always takes forever when it comes to clothes."

"I resent that," came a voice from the stairs. Robby Ray, Jackson, and Oliver all turned to the stairs as Miley stepped down, closely followed by Lilly. Both were also extremely dressed up. Lilly was smiling at Jackson and Oliver was currently was looking at Miley with his mouth slightly open while Miley herself had yet to look up, currently busy looking through her bag.

"Thought I heard someone complaining about me," she said with a smirk, her head still down and focused on her bag. Noticing Oliver staring, Lilly nudged Miley rather forcibly and nodded to Oliver. Looking up questionably at Lilly, Miley looked over at Oliver and her eyes bulged as she looked him up and down while her mouth fell open slightly. As Robby Ray, Lilly, and Jackson observed the two of them amusedly, Lilly decided to take things in her own hands.

"Well I think we ought to get going," she said with a smile, linking arms with Jackson as he approached and starting to walk towards the door. Turning around at the door, she called back to each Robby Ray and Miley and Oliver in turn, "See you later Mr. S. You two coming?"

At Lilly's words, Miley and Oliver both coloured slightly before hurrying out after her. Calling back at the group, Robby Ray said with a chuckle, "Not too late ya' hear? Have fun."

As Miley and Oliver approached Jackson's car, Jackson was already busy opening his passenger-side door for Lilly. Oliver seemed to shift uncomfortably for a moment before he walked ahead of Miley and opened the backseat door for her. He looked up at her with a nervous smile that she returned shyly. Lilly and Jackson both noticed this and winked at each other.

As Jackson opened his own door, Lilly turned to face the backseat where Miley and Oliver sat silently, occasionally glancing at each other.

"Soooo..." she asked, turning to Jackson and Oliver.

"Soooo... what?" Jackson returned with a smirk. Lilly rolled her eyes but smiled.

"So what do you think?" she asked indicating her dress and attire.

"You look very pretty," Jackson said in a rather routine voice, his gaze not wavering from the road. Lilly rolled her eyes again but smiled contently before turning back to look at Miley who was currently glancing at Oliver patiently. Lilly now turned to look at Oliver pointedly. His face was blank of expression. After a moment of Lilly's stare, a look of apparent realisation appeared on Oliver's face.

"Yeah, you look pretty I guess Lils," he said in a way a brother would dryly compliment his sister. Lilly glared at him.

"I wasn't asking about _me_," she said through gritted teeth. She turned to glance at Miley pointedly before turning back to glare at him. Oliver blinked in response. Lilly sighed in frustration before meeting Miley's eyes and reaching a silent agreement that girls seem to be able to do. Miley then turned to hit Oliver on his arm.

"She was referring to me, ya' doughnut!" she said with a scowl that still nonetheless couldn't suppress her small smile. Oliver turned to Miley after rubbing his arm.

"You look nice," he said. Miley frowned at his comment and looked down at herself.

"I look nice?" she asked sadly, pulling at her dress slightly. Oliver didn't even need the glare Lilly was giving him from the front seat as he immediately revised his comment.

"You look gorgeous Miles," he said with a smile. His eyes immediately bulged at realisation of what he had just said. Stuttering, he quickly added, "I mean you look... your dress is... pretty...? I mean, _you_ look pretty... I mean, you look pretty in the dress... not that you don't always look pretty coz' you always look beautiful! I mean... you... I... err..."

He closed his mouth and looked down at the floor, his face now slightly flushed. Miley looked at Oliver with a slightly amused but extremely pleased look on her face. In the front of the car, Lilly and Jackson were both attempting to suppress their laughter.

"Tonight should be interesting," they both whispered, each wearing an identical smirk.

* * *

Half an hour later, the group was at the restaurant and were looking sitting at their table, looking at their menus. Actually, Lilly and Jackson were looking at their menus while Miley was giggling at a joke Oliver was telling. Lilly glanced up from her menu to roll her eyes at the pair before nudging Jackson.

"Are we sure they're not already dating?" she whispered sarcastically.

Jackson looked up from his own menu and rolled his eyes.

"They might as well be, but if you even hint at that they both will either turn red or look like a deer in the headlights. That is if Oliver understands the hint."

Lilly laughed at this and looked back over at the two. Oliver was looking back through his menu while Miley had hers open upside-down as she watched Oliver from over the top of it. Lilly shifted closer to Miley with a smirk and pulled up her own menu to shield herself from Oliver.

"See anything you like?" she asked suggestively. Miley literally jumped in her seat and pulled her menu up to completely cover her face.

"I'm still deciding," Miley responded with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Between what? Kissing Oliver here or waiting until the movie theatre?" she hissed. Miley snapped her head around fiercely and glared at Lilly.

"I am merely surprised to see Oliver dressing this formally. I was merely _appreciating_ him cleaning up so nicely," she responded with a straight face, yet refusing to meet Lilly's eye. Lilly smirked even larger.

"You were ogling him again," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth before she returned to calmly look at her menu. Miley slapped her menu down onto the table and glared at Lilly.

"I was not ogling him!" she said forcibly, and rather loudly too, causing a few neighbouring tables to glance her way. At their table, Jackson snorted into his own menu while Oliver looked up from his own to stare blankly at Miley. Miley's face coloured slightly as she looked around. Waving in apology to her neighbouring diners, she pulled her menu back up to cover her face, again upside-down. Oliver continued to stare at Miley with a blank look.

"Who were you ogling?" he asked quietly to avoid further looks by their neighbours.

Miley kept her menu up over her face and replied hastily, "No one." She immediately turned to face Lilly and Jackson who both quieted instantly at her glare but their smirks remained. Oliver continued to look confused.

"But you shouted about ogling someone..." he said confusedly. As Miley remained silent and her eyes focused on her menu, Oliver turned to look at Lilly and Jackson, both of whom were trying very hard to hold in their laughter at the situation. Turning back to Miley he pressed, "Come on Miles. Who were you ogling?"

"Like I said, I wasn't 'ogling' anyone," she replied as she continued to avoid everyone's eyes.

"Everything is fine?" he asked.

"Yep! I'm as happy as a pig with a fresh-filled trough!"

Blinking slightly at her country saying, Oliver pointed blankly at her menu.

"Then why are you looking at your menu upside-down?"

Miley's eyes bulged and she immediately flipped it up properly and hid her face again. Glancing at Oliver from behind it with a flustered face and seeing him continue to stare; she folded her arms across her face and hid herself, leaving Oliver looking even more confused. Lilly and Jackson meanwhile pulled up both of their menus in order to stifle their laughter.

"If this is supper, I can't wait for the theatre," Lilly said with a laugh. Jackson laughed silently as well and picked up his water glass.

"Cheers!" he said with a smirk, clinking glasses with Lilly as the two of them gazed over at the embarrassed Miley and lost Oliver.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I am cutting it short before they go to the movie theatre. Chapter five will be the last chapter. Again, twelve reviews before I update. I want to be sure this is still liked and being read. Reviews have been going down... Let me know your thoughts mates! What you liked, what you didn't like, where I can improve, etc. I want to hear it. Thanks all. Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I apologise immensely for the long time between updates. I've been busy with work. Eight, sometimes close to ten hour days... yeah, but it's finally here. Chapter five of 'Speeding Up The Process'. I received a little inspiration for the theatre scene from 'Make Out Row' by xTexasgalx so I give props to her and her brilliant story. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making nothing off of the following. All characters are retained by Disney. The reference later is of course from Fergie's 'Clumsy' which I also do not own.

* * *

Speeding Up The Process

Chapter Five

"I can't believe you two!" Miley hissed bitterly.

"It's our fault you're making a fool of yourself in front of your _Ollie_?" Lilly replied with a smirk. The two had run to the toilets before the film while Oliver and Jackson purchased the food. Both were adjusting their hair and reapplying make-up in the mirror.

"Yes it is!" Miley hissed again. "I've been able to hide my feelings for Oliver for a while now–"

Lilly snorted but refrained from comment. Miley glared but continued on and said, "Well I've been able to hide my feelings _reasonably _well, and now you two are making me get all flustered in front of him. He must think I'm a complete dork!"

Lilly snorted again as she said, "As if this was the first time you acted like a dork in front of him. Remember after you had barely known him and you tripped and spilt frog juice all over him? Remember when you flew across the beach in a chicken suit? Remember when you tried to play hock–" Lilly stopped as she saw Miley now looking absolutely furiously at her.

"Okay, I get it! Oliver has me tripping, stumbling, flipping, and fumbling like no other guy can. He's the one guy that has always been there for me, even if I didn't deserve him," she said as her expression became sad. Lilly's expression too changed and she immediately pulled Miley to her.

"Miley, Miley, Miley, how do you not realise it?"

"Realise what?" Miley asked bewilderedly.

"Oliver likes you too!" Lilly said exasperatedly. Miley widened her eyes but put her head down and sighed sadly.

"Stop trying to get by hopes up."

"Miley look at Oliver's behaviour; he does _everything_ and _anything_ for you."

Miley looked up at her in disbelief and shook her head.

"He only does that stuff because he's my friend. He only thinks of me as a–"

"–Sister or a pet fish?" Lilly finished with a knowing look. Miley's eyes widened slightly as Lilly smiled.

"Sound familiar? You both are trying to make the other think you don't like the other to prevent 'ruining the friendship'," she said using air quotes. "You both are so insistent the other doesn't like you that neither of you realise that you are both crazy about each other. You don't see that Oliver is crushing on you just as much as you are crushing on him."

Miley shook her head sadly and said, "Impossible."

"You have Oliver whipped!" Lilly said with a laugh as Miley looked up in astonishment.

"I do not!" she responded indignantly. Lilly shook her head in laughter.

"When we get out there, ask him to get you a Sprite."

"I told him I didn't want anything to drink," she replied blankly. Lilly nodded her head eagerly.

"Exactly. I guarantee you he'll go back and get you one. I told you, he'll do _anything_ for you."

Miley narrowed her eyes but appeared to be contemplating the suggestion. Lilly closed her bag and turned to the door.

"Come on!" she said with a smile and pulled a smiling Miley out with her. Outside they were met by Jackson and Oliver, each carrying a large box of popcorn. Oliver hesitantly handed Miley a large box of candy with a nervous sideways look at Jackson.

"I... err... know how much you like this Miles so I bought it for you," he said as he looked back at Jackson again who seemed to be nodding encouragingly. Miley's eyes widened and she smiled happily.

"Ooo, thank you Oliver!" she replied excitedly. Lilly moved forward to grab the popcorn from Jackson.

"What I tell you?" she muttered out of the side of her mouth to Miley. Miley frowned but Lilly continued with a hiss, "Ask Oliver to get you something to drink!"

Miley frowned again but after a nudge from Lilly she timidly said, "Now I'm wishing I had gotten a Sprite–"

"–I'll go back and get you one if you want," Oliver said. Miley widened her eyes again as Oliver turned to go back to the counter. Jackson snickered and made a motion of one cracking a whip as they watched Oliver ordering at the counter. Miley scowled at Jackson.

"What are you laughing at? Lilly has _you_ whipped," Miley pointed out. Jackson sputtered and folded his arms across his chest.

"She does not," Jackson replied resentfully. He looked over at Lilly hesitantly and shifted uncomfortably as Lilly stared at him with eyes narrowed and arms folded.

"Well maybe a little," he said as he avoided Lilly's eyes. "She's quite strong for her size." Lilly smiled happily and pretended to kiss each of her biceps. Miley's amused smile during Lilly and Jackson's exchange fell as Oliver arrived holding a large cup of Sprite.

"Oh Oliver, you really didn't need to do that." Oliver shrugged and handed it to her with a slightly nervous smile. Miley shifted uncomfortably again.

"It's so big. **(A/N: Several of my readers need to remove their heads from the gutter at this point – you know who you are)** This must have cost a lot."

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Oliver looked down and finally said, "Well, we could share it."

Lilly and Jackson both snorted but with a glare from Miley, Lilly pointed at a random film poster and said, "Hey look I think Johnny Depp is in another film!" and dragged Jackson with her. Continuing to glare at their retreating backs, she turned back to Oliver.

"I guess we _could_ share it," she said with a shy smile. Oliver smiled nervously and then hesitantly wrapped his arm around her and led her into the theatre to follow the now impatient Lilly and Jackson.

Upon entering the theatre, the group made their way up near the top and found seats near the centre of the row. Lilly and Jackson sat down and immediately began fighting over the popcorn while Oliver and Miley sat down in silence. Oliver continued to lead Miley with his arm around her as they sat down, his arm remaining on her shoulder as the film started. Miley hesitantly looked up and him, her eyes and expression clearly wondering whether he realised his continued action. As Oliver merely continued to watch the screen and began to eat the popcorn, Miley smiled, looking pleased and subtly shifted back to rest against his arm slightly. Next to them, Lilly paused her fight over her own popcorn to watch the interaction with an amused expression on her face.

"They are too cute," she whispered to Jackson. Jackson paused his struggle as well and looked over.

"I talked to lover boy over there while you two were gone to try and get him to be a better date and to be more romantic if he wants to _woo_ Miles," he said softly, managing to pry the popcorn out of Lilly's hands as she snorted at 'woo'.

"What he say about that?"

Jackson rolled his and replied, "Nothing. He just stared at me blankly but eventually he started shifting uncomfortably." Lilly looked back at him with a look of shock and disgust.

"You can't tell me that doughnut _still_ doesn't realise he has a crush on Miley?" she whispered as she indicated Oliver. Jackson rolled his eyes again.

"Doesn't appear like he's quite aware of the fact yet," he said intellectually. Lilly scoffed as she folded her arms and gazed at Oliver with disgust.

"That's putting it nicely. Though he isn't exactly the brightest light bulb." Jackson nodded in agreement.

"Oliver's slower than Uncle Earl after the Christmas feast." Lilly looked over at Jackson in bewilderment but chose to remain silent. Turning her attention back to Miley and Oliver before returning to the film, she saw Oliver look down at Miley hesitantly and pull her slightly closer. Miley looked up at him at his movement and smiled at him before glancing back at the screen.

"Isn't this story so cute?" she asked indicating the film. "The main character and her best guy friend keep dancing around each other before falling in love at the end?" Oliver looked from the screen to Miley with his mouth agape.

"How can you tell?" he asked in amazement. Miley looked up at Oliver in disbelief.

"You can't tell me you don't see it. Can she be any more obvious about her feelings for him?"

"I don't know, can she?" came Lilly's voice from the other side of Oliver. Miley looked over and noticed Lilly was staring at her rather than the screen. She glared at Lilly who returned the gesture by smiling back mischievously. Oliver meanwhile was watching the film in disbelief again.

"How can you two tell she likes him?" he whispered as he watched the film with a confused expression on his face. Lilly's smile became a very mischievous smirk as she continued to stare at Miley.

"It's quite obvious by the way she looks at him and how she laughs at all his lame jokes. Not to mention how touchy she is with him and how she goes on the defence or gets the 'deer-in-the-headlights' look whenever anyone suggests she likes him," Lilly responded quietly, continuing to smirk widely at a slowly colouring Miley. Jackson had turned his attention from the film to the trio and was eating his popcorn with an amused expression on his face. Several other people in surrounding seats were also now observing Miley, Lilly, and Oliver. Oliver looked at Lilly with an even more confused look on his face.

"None of that has happened in the film, at least not yet. Have you two seen this already or something?" Miley glared even further despite her colouring face and attempted to speak with as much dignity as possible.

"I think Lilly is getting this film mixed up with another one. Nonetheless, she should _refrain from speaking_ in case she reveals– I mean, before she spoils the ending." Oliver looked between Lilly and Miley completely puzzled.

"Is he _really_ that stupid?" a neighbouring observer whispered to Jackson from the row behind. Jackson shook his head sadly.

"He _really_ is that stupid," he said holding his popcorn up over his shoulder to offer it to his neighbour who took a hand full, shaking their head sadly too and continued to watch.

Lilly continued to smirk at Miley as she now asked Oliver, "Going back to Miley's original question, what do you think of the main girl and her best guy friend falling in love?"

Looking back up at the screen, he replied, "I think it's kind of cliché don't you think? Sounds like some sappy Disney programme that girls like."

Both Lilly and Miley turned to look at Oliver with mouths open before they both lifted their hands and hit him on each shoulder.

"Ow! What?!" he asked as he held both of his shoulders. "You have to admit it's just a cheesy romance."

Miley stood up blinking hard and apparently trying to hold back tears as Oliver asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" she said in a shaky voice before walking out. Oliver looked shocked as around the group, shouts around them made it clear that half of the theatre had been watching their interaction rather than the film.

"Oh my God!"

"You idiot!"

Lilly, however, was beside herself. She stood up shaking in rage and advanced on Oliver, poking him hard in the chest with each word she spoke.

"_You_!"

"Me?" he asked pointing at himself, his voice mixed with confusion and terror.

"Do you realise what you've done to Miley?"

"No! Not at all," he responded in bewilderment.

"You have just ripped out Miley's heart and _stomped_ on it!" she said poking him in his chest even harder now.

"What?" he asked in confusion again. "What do you mean I ripped out her heart?"

"She likes you!" shouted half of the theatre. Oliver looked from the people watching him back to Lilly.

"She likes me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes! She has been going mad because of you tonight! Though we were partially responsible for some of that," she said looking at Jackson who nodded in fair agreement. Oliver stared on in disbelief.

"She doesn't like me like that. She said she only loved me as a brother or pet-fish back in eighth-grade."

"Of course she did! She said that to cover up her feelings. Any idiot could tell even then she was saying that to cover up her real feelings. Both of you have been trying to cover up your feelings for each other and by the way you're staring at me now, it appears you _still_ haven't realised you're crushing on Miley too!"

"I am?"

"Oliver, you jump at anything she asks you or tells you to do. You also are attracted to girls that look a lot like Miley–"

"–Like who?" Oliver interrupted.

"Luanne for one."

"Becca looked like Miley some too," Jackson added from where he was viewing the scene.

"Don't forget you were in love with–" Lilly lowered her voice and said, "–Hannah Montana, and that's just Miley in a wig!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! You're right. I guess I do like Miley."

"Don't be guessing Oliver. You _do_ like Miley."

"I like Miley," Oliver repeated with a small smile. The smile was immediately replaced with a look of contemplation as he sad sadly, "I guess I fought so hard against my feelings for her I didn't realise I had them. I just didn't think a girl as great as she is would like someone like me."

"That's the thing though Oliver," she said as she grasped him by the shoulders. Speaking slowly and forcefully, she said, "Miley. Likes. You." She then released him and stood back as his face looked to be processing the information. With a much softer tone and a smile she added, "For some reason despite your doughnutness and idiocy, Miley is crazy about you."

"And you're crazy about her," Jackson added. Oliver again looked to be processing all of the information in his head before his face finally had a look of realisation and then determination.

"I got it! I need to..." he looked around in confusion as he stuttered, "I... err... I need to..."

"Go find her!" roared most of the theatre.

"Right!" Oliver replied as he looked confusedly to the people watching him on his left and right before walking swiftly out of the theatre as Lilly moved back to take her place next to Jackson.

"Now _this_ was worth eight dollars admission," Jackson said to his neighbour who nodded in agreement before sitting back to watch the forgotten film everyone had really paid to see. Jackson wrapped his arm around Lilly and gave her a smile.

"What do you think then? Think we finally pushed them in the right direction? Finally sped up the process?"

"We did our best. It's just up to doughnut boy over there to not screw it up anymore," she said with a smile as she rested her head against Jackson's shoulder. As Jackson moved to rest his head closer to Lilly, Lilly snatched the remaining popcorn from Jackson and smiled proudly.

Outside, Oliver had looked around the theatre he had just exited before moving to the ladies' room and pushing the door open slightly. Inside he heard sad musings and an occasional sob. Stepping around the corner, he found Miley curled up against the wall with her arms wrapped around her legs. She stood up quickly as she spotted Oliver and hurriedly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What are doing in here?" she asked softly. He didn't speak right away, walking up to her and gazing at her before looking down at his shoes.

"I'm sorry Miles," he replied just as quietly. She looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on Miles, you know why I'm in here. Why you're upset, why I'm in here," he said. Even quieter he added, "And why we aren't together."

Miley didn't speak, rather stared at him to continue. Sighing and rubbing the back of his head, he finally looked up at her.

"I'm an idiot Miles. I'm stupid. I'm a doughnut," he said, earning a small smile from her. "But I'm _your_ doughnut."

They both stood in silence for a moment before Miley truly spoke for the first time.

"I was overwhelmed by tonight. I thought tonight would be _the_ night. The night I'd secretly wanted for a long time," she said. Looking down at her own shoes, she shyly added, "The night I've wanted really since I met you."

"And I ruined it by being my usual doughnut self," he said with a sad smile. She walked forward with a shy, but slightly eager smile and looked up at him.

"Is there a reason then, that you followed me in here?"

Looking up to meet her eyes, he shyly responded, "I came to realise through a rather... err... _forceful_ Lilly–"

"Forceful meaning...?"

"As in she looked as if she was going to bludgeon me," he replied with a slightly terrified look of remembrance. Shaking his head back to the present after Miley giggled slightly, he continued, "I came to realise that I really, really care about you Miles. I'd do anything for you."

Miley's face broke out into an enormous smile as Oliver began to ramble.

"I care so much about you and I hated watching you get hurt by all those stupid guys... I always wished I could do something... It was always so confusing... I can't quite explain–"

He was cut off as Miley grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her, crashing her lips against his own. Oliver was stunned for a moment before he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

Finally, Miley pulled away, now absolutely beaming and looked at a slightly confused but smiling Oliver.

"Was that your way of telling me to shut up?"

"Maybe..." she replied with a large grin. He smiled broadly too and wrapped an arm around her and led her outside.

"What do you say we ditch Lilly and Jackson? Give them some nice alone time?" he asked.

"Sounds good. They've been so busy trying to get us together they haven't had any time for themselves."

"I say we stop to eat first."

Looking up at him in disbelief she asked, "What do you call that massive box of popcorn you bought?"

"An appetiser," he replied with a smile. Miley rolled her eyes but smiled happily as she leaned against his shoulder as they walked out of the theatre.

* * *

A/N: Be sure to let me hear your thoughts, even if it's over. I have one more story currently out, 'Mingling With Celebrities', and I have several other ideas floating around in my fairly empty head so be sure to let me hear your thoughts so I have input to use on future stories. What did you like? What didn't you like? Let me hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading. Cheers!


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